Marilyn Manson – Born Villain
08 May 2012 1 Comment
in CD Review, Rock Tags: Born Villain, Brian Warner, Cooking Vinyl, Holywood, Marilyn Manson, Twiggy Ramirez
There’s a tendency with artists whose careers have spanned as long as Marilyn Manson’s has to cast a lamenting eye on the glory days when each new release arrives. In this case, it must also considered that we’re dealing with a man who spent a number of years holding the prestigious honour of middle class America’s favourite hate figure around the turn of the millennium. Sure, the glory days of that era and Holywood, the album spawned as a result of the incredibly vitriolic campaign directed against the band after they were blamed for influencing the two teenagers for the Columbine High School massacre is now twelve years gone. It’s only natural that Manson eventually fell from the public consciousness and each new release since 2003 and the classy, stylised anthems of The Golden Age of Grotesque has seen falling interesting and declining quality. Time has certainly meant that the Marilyn Manson of 2012 is a far cry from a band who were once openly slated and hated almost daily by the media, politicians and every Christian league you could imagine, but Born Villain confirms that it’s also blunted their approach, their spirit and their ability to, at the very least, write a decent song.
The basic ideal of simplistic, thudding, rock songs coupled with Manson’s bleak poetry that has preserved a career remains largely unchanged on the band’s eighth release, but from start to finish Born Villain is a dull, sloppy album. Devoid of any hooks, it has no engaging tunes to speak of and offers little reason to come back for a repeat listen. Admittedly, long–term collaborator Twiggy Ramirez has written some great songs for this band in the past but this is a poor, loose and surprisingly juvenile collection. The main riff on first single No Reflection sounds more like something a twelve year old banging away on his first Fender Squire would come up with as opposed to a band that’ve existed for almost twenty years in some shape or form. Musically, Marilyn Manson were never going to be a progressively-engaging beast, but the lack of basic development or polish here is startling. The drums are heinously soft on the ears with an unforgivably sparse quality to them that limits any power these songs might have, and that’s even before you get to Manson himself. This is what awaits you for the chorus on Pistol-Whipped; “You’re a little pistol, and I’m fuckin’ pistol-whipped,” sounds as juvenile and weak as it looks, and this lowbrow stamp is all over the album.
Having recently managed to catch some footage of Manson performing The Dope Show from 1998’s Mechanical Animals along with No Reflection at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards last month, Born Villain simply helps to confirm everything that was apparent from that brief set; there’s nothing vitriolic or interesting left within this band. On that night, Manson stalked the stage almost as a parody of himself with some truly abysmal vocals and his band looked passive and disinterested. Manson has also described this record as having a “suicide death metal” style, which just goes to show you how far removed from reality his world has become. Everything about Born Villain, from the desperately schlocky lyrics and sloppy music suggests that Marilyn Manson almost believes that his band is still dangerous, still edgy and still subversive. What this actually represents is far more worrying, because this is a record of exceptionally low quality that Manson seems to assume that he can simply get away with it. God knows who he’s trying to fool, because there’s nothing dangerous and barely anything listenable on Born Villain.
4/10
Meshuggah – Koloss
12 Apr 2012 Leave a Comment
in CD Review, Metal Tags: Chaosphere, djent, Koloss, Meshuggah, Nothing, Nuclear Blast, obZen
In the four years since the release of Meshuggah’s last effot, 2008’s superb obZen, it’s no stretch to say that the metal world has changed a bit. Massively downtuned guitars and polyrhythmic structures are pretty much vogue these days and this is the band predominantly responsible for that. Bands like Periphery, Tesseract and Uneven Structure have taken palm-muted guitar riffs to heart and pushed that core musical ideal further than Meshuggah perhaps ever could, which has led some to ponder aloud if Sweden’s biggest metallic cult band are relevant anymore, as their original formula has been so refined and, in some cases, improved upon. Whilst it is true that there are a number of bands doing exciting things with a sound Meshuggah inadvertently popularised, suggesting that they’re over the hill as a result of that comes across as exceptionally trite when you consider how young the scene known as djent actually is. Couple that with the fact that we’re dealing with a band that only tends to release an album every 3 to 4 years (the Approximately Whenever We Feel Like It timescale) and you’re left to wonder if people want Meshuggah to fail. Interest in Koloss, the band’s seventh full length is understandably high, and ultimately, it’s a mixed bag, failing to match up to previous classics, but providing enough evidence to casual bat aside any notions of irrelevance.
As early as the slow, rumbling stomp of opener I Am Colossus, it’s clear that attempting to predict Meshuggah’s reaction to the host of chuggy whippersnappers consistently aping their sound was foolish; it appears that they haven’t really taken any notice at all. In a way, good on ‘em; Meshuggah’s approach throughout Koloss remains as uncompromising, nihilistic and satisfyingly brutal as ever. Follow-up The Demon’s Name Is Surveillance is one of the most pulverizing songs of the band’s career, with its constantly pounding double-bass beat over an elastic main riff, and Behind The Sun lurches and evolves into a deliciously dark epic. As with obZen, Koloss’ greatest strength lies in its variation and ability to change things up, refusing to anchor itself to a singular tempo or sound. It also represents frontman Jens Kidman’s best vocal performance to date, with a welcome clarity added to his admittedly one-dimensional bark not previously heard of.
This sailing doesn’t stay consistently plain, however, and Koloss does have its issues. Whilst Meshuggah have certainly earned the right to have their music judged on its own terms and without the influence of the output of perceived peers clouding anyone’s judgement, you can’t escape from the fact that this is simply not one of their best releases. Demiurge gets stuck in a primitive, uninspiring thud that it doesn’t recover from, Swarm offers a fairly sparse rhythm that it never fully develops, only being saved by a typically obtuse solo from Fredrik Thordendal and The Hurt That Finds You First seems so preoccupied with bouncing along with a speed of a hardcore punk number that it never attempts to be a decent song. Even first single Break Those Bones Whose Sinews Gave It Motion relies far too much on its atmosphere, offering riffs that never grab your attention. This hardly amounts to a grand failure, but in the context of a Meshuggah album, after four years of waiting, these issues stick out and hold it back. This severely diminishes the impact of closer The Last Vigil, a haunting instrumental guitar passage, and Koloss just gently slips away from you innocuously, leaving you to ponder just how much of an effect it’s truly had on you.
Ultimately, if you strip away the hype, the waiting, the questioning and that legendary aura surrounding Koloss, then you’re left with what amounts to a decent metal record. It certainly never veers towards the disastrous but it doesn’t flatter as consistently as you might expect. It is somewhat disappointing considering Meshuggah have taken four years to follow-up obZen, and returned with what amounts to a record spent mostly on cruise control. That sort of coasting would be unacceptable if not for the quality of some of the material on offer, so credit where credit’s due. The problem is that you know Meshuggah can do better.
6/10
Jenny Owen Youngs – An Unwavering Band Of Light
27 Feb 2012 Leave a Comment
In some ways, the way Jenny Owen Youngs went about getting the ball rolling for her third album is so modern, charming and honest, it’s almost perfect. In July of 2010, wanting to keep control of her own work and make a record on her own terms, she contacted her fans about the Kickstarter campaign she has just begun, aimed at raising the funds for making An Unwavering Band Of Light. Within 28 hours, the $20, 000 target was achieved, and she went on to raise 38 grand within just a few weeks. It’s all the more impressive if you consider that Jenny’s nowhere near rolling in cash, self-released her first album Batten The Hatches and doesn’t have a label behind her to speak of at all. Even better is what started as a simple request from fans has helped to create the best work of her career.
Sure, JOY’s always been able to marry up thoughtful, smart, poppy tunes based around her acoustic, and as recently as last album Transmitter Failure, that’s taken on more of a rockin’ full-band approach. Still, every aspect of her work is more streamlined and focussed here. The uplifting, jaunty numbers like Love For Long and soaring closer Wake Up over up an almost illegal level of catchiness, the reflective fragility of the acoustic O God and piano-led So Long find new heartstrings to tug on and there’s even room for the angular, volume and Russian-tinged horns of Sleep Machine.
Perhaps the best thing you can say about this record is that it doesn’t sound like a penny of the money raised has been wasted; fair play to the lady in question as she’s surrounded herself with great musicians who play everything with effortless ease. It makes the energetic rhythms on the sugar-rush of Pirates or the insanely catchy whistled melody of Why You Fall stand out even more (seriously, that melody will burrow it’s way into your brain with the guile of an angry shark). Lyrically, it deals very openly with sticky situations of the heart, specifically their pitfalls and occasional futility, but it’s done in such a way that it doesn’t feel forced, and thankfully, massively contrived. “We make the most of the love we got, cos it won’t be love for long;” as an introductory chorus, it’s hardly swimming in aimless positivity but it’s honest, and it’s backed up by a ridiculously catchy and jaunty melody.
If this is the first you’re hearing of Jenny Owen Youngs then you’ll find instant evidence on An Unwavering Band Of Light as to why her fans responded so quickly and impressively to her call for assistance. It’s well written, varied and genuinely great to listen to. And what a note to an industry that we’re constantly told is in trouble that a singer/songwriter is able to ask the fans that buy her albums and go to her shows to fund the making of a record they were always going to get anyway.
9/10
Lamb of God – Resolution
21 Feb 2012 Leave a Comment
in CD Review, Metal Tags: Lamb Of God, Metal, Resolution, Resolution review, Roadrunner
In some ways, given that Lamb Of God’s stock has risen so impressively high since the release of 2006′s Sacrament that they are one of few modern metal bands able to fill arenas, their sixth offering Resolution doesn’t stand to lose much at all. Any naysayers crying “sell out” were flattened in the brutal wake of 2009′s Wrath, which came so pleasingly after the band’s commercial breakthrough. That album, once again, posted huge sales to the point where you could say this was a band that now has a safe, protected career; albums will be bought, big gigs attended, money made etc. As such, it’s perhaps not so stunning that Resolution is a particularly unsurprising offering.
There’s very little room for misinterpretation here; this is very much a solid, heavy and mostly unremarkable Lamb of God record. Sure, the introductory sludge of Straight For The Sun is a welcome surprise, yet it’s followed by the immediately recognisable groove of Desolation, which on another day could just as easily be Redneck in disguise. The follow up, Ghost Walking has been described by frontman Randy Blythe as a song fans would find familiar, which is indicative of the majority of Resolution; recognisable, comforting and pleasingly heavy. Combining the groove and accessibility of Sacrament and Wrath’s speed and venom makes for a listen tempered by the occassional sidestep but still instantly familiar.
That’s ultimately where Resolution fails as a progression for Lamb of God in that it doesn’t go anywhere particularly engaging. There are a few too many songs on it sound like outtakes from predecessors, which detracts from the power of those moments that stand out a little more like the lurching thrash of Invictus or King Me, easily the band’s biggest curveball to date thanks to a combination of grand choral work, strings and malevolent stomp.
Still, in the context of Lamb of God’s career, this represents another loud, defiant statement. If there was to be one band to profit so vastly from metal’s re-emmergence as a commercial force, then you could find many more undeserving candidates. Perhaps the lazy Pantera comparison people seem desperate to make can come in handy here, with Lamb of God’s global popularity so high and with Resolution acting very much like a modern Reinventing The Steel; solid, dabbling in experimentation but ultimately a capable statement of a band’s power that won’t stun anyone. There’s still pleasure to take from those trademark buzzsaw guitars and Blythe’s gutteral growl, just not as much as you might be used to.
6.5/10
Bleeding Through – The Great Fire
07 Feb 2012 Leave a Comment
in CD Review, Metal Tags: bleeding through, Hardcore, Metal, rise records, the great fire
There are few things more disheartening in music than seeing a fantastic album get bogged down in label politics. Trustkill, Bleeding Through’s previous label managed to muck up the release of 2008′s superb Declaration spectacularly thanks to a lengthy delay and barely any promotion to speak of. Considering the band’s previous effort (2006′s The Truth) sold a quarter of a million copies worldwide, the paltry 6, 000 units its predecessor shifted in its first week was a massive shame for such a epic, brutal and truly engaging metal record. Claiming that this has defined the band’s career subsequently would be a mistake, and The Great Fire, just like 2010′s self-titled effort is another solid collection of hardcore-influenced extreme metal, but it struggles to distinguish itself from the band’s career highlight.
Before angry crowds gather to pick fault with the old “it’s not as good as such-and-such album”, it’s worth stating that The Great Fire is still a beast. The symphonic keyboards, brutal blastbeats and Brandon Schieppati’s commanding bark are still here along with a more traditional, hardcore approach with most of the fourteen songs on offer clocking in at under three minutes. It’s concise, to-the-point and leaves little room for misreading its intentions of kicking your backside up to your throat. The occasional melodic passage and clean vocal do break things up from being an extended session in being pounded but this is as savage and straightforward as Bleeding Through have sounded in some time.
That’s great an’ all, but are there songs to back that up? The short answer is ‘just about’. The desperate intensity of Final Hours and the thrash fuelled one minute and fifty four seconds of Faith In Fire certainly hit some thrilling buttons, but ultimately the album suffers the same problem Bleeding Through had two years ago; it doesn’t really distinguish itself. Admittedly, Dave Nassie has proven a sturdy replacement for Jona Weinhofen in the axeman department since the latter’s departure after Declaration, but since then, there’s no denying that some of the creative spark and identity hasn’t been restored. The subtle nuances, use of different keys and variation of that period in the band’s career hasn’t been carried over into the post-Trustkill days. The Great Fire is very sturdy, heavy and well-composed stuff, and certainly some of the most scathing of the band’s career, but brutality cannot carry the weight of an entire album, and there’s getting less and less to distinguish Bleeding Through from the rest of the pack.
6/10
The Armando Iannucci Shows
21 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
in Comedy, DVD Review, The Chewie Project, TV Show Tags: Armando Iannucci, Armando Iannucci Show, Channel 4
The skinny, if you please?
British satirist and all-round comic legend and his dark yet hilarious take on modern life. He wrote, directed and starred in this.
Sitcom?
Hell no. It’s more of a sketch show than anything else. A lot of those don’t even feature Iannucci, but he sort of holds it together with his awkward daily experiences and interactions.
I need more.
Iannucci plays a fictionalised version of himself trying his best to navigate social pitfalls, existentialist queries and humdrum aspects of our day-to-day existence. Using extensive monologues and bizarre sketches, each episode follows a rough theme combined with recurring characters and how it all fits into Iannucci’s life. For example, East End Thug pops up occasionally to offer violence as a means of solving problems, and local OAP Hugh often pops by to offer off the wall observations of the past; “We always watched Don’t Forget Your Toothbrush with Chris Evans, till he disappeared up his own arse.”
As one of the men who helped to devise Alan Partridge, it’s not that much of a shock that Iannucci’s work here often leads into exceptionally embarrassing and uncomfortable territory. The comedy can be exceptionally dark, absurd, awkward or just plain ridiculous. Just to give you an idea of what we’re dealing with here, you’re going to see our fearful hero find ridiculous slogans taped under cars so mechanics can bluff their way through repairs, taunt zoo animals with a ten-colour pen exclaiming “You can’t even write. I mastered this when I was three” and attempt to navigate dinner parties where hilarious observations are baked into pies to help their guests appear smart and funny. His style is very deadpan and doesn’t have a hint of irony or realisation for the ridiculousness of the events going on around him, which just makes it all the more awkwardly enjoyable. If you’re asking me (and we’re going to pretend that you are), best advice would be to not overdo things here. The surrealist element to the show can get dizzying after more than two episodes, so it’s best to watch it slowly. I’m saying that having watched four episodes in a row, and I currently feel like my brain wants to escape from my skull and slap me for putting it through so much mental.
In short:
Crazy, dark, surreal, very funny but best taken in short doses.
L.A. Noire
12 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
in Drama, Film Noir, Game Review Tags: Cole Phelps, L.A. Noire, Rockstar, Team Bondi
Aside from the odd handheld adventure, Rockstar’s been taking an extended break from its flagship Grand Theft Auto seriese to take its influential sandbox approach to gaming to new territories. Last year’s Western-based Red Dead Redemption and Sydney-based Team Bondi’s L.A. Noire (which Rockstar have published) are good examples of the company attempting to break out of their comfort zone, and whilst the latter may still hold some of the conventions that’ve made this gaming powerhouse so successful, it’s a step into a bold new world in many ways.
Players assume the role of Cole Phelps, a returning WW2 ‘hero’ working the beat on the streets of 1940s Los Angeles. He’s the sort of determined, uncompromising character that we’ve seen before; he doesn’t earn many friends but he earns the praise he gets. After impressing his superiors with his investigating and interrogation skills, he gets promoted to a detective, and subsequently plunges deeper into L.A.’s seemingly bottomless cesspit of corruption, murder and greed. It might not be the most original concept in the world, and you can spot Cole’s eventual fall from grace a mile off, but he’s an engaging enough leading man for his trials and tribulations to be an engrossing experience, even if he isn’t the most likeable guy.
(This is actually one of the more cheery crime scenes.)
Whilst there’s been enough coverage focusing on what L.A. Noire does differently, it’s worth noting that it isn’t a million miles away from anything in the GTA series. How can it be? It’s a Rockstar game. The difference here is that you’re on the right side of the law for once. You can’t go around running over pedestrians, smashing into cars and causing mayhem (well, you can, but it won’t do you any favours). There’s still a healthy emphasis on driving and gunplay, which forms the crux of a lot of Rockstar games, but the biggest difference here is that most of your time here will be taken up by investigating. This involves rocking up at a crime scene, searching for clues, questioning witnesses and putting clues together to get your guy (or gal). The real hook behind this game are the interrogations, however. Your clues will give you a basis upon which to grill your suspects, and every time you ask them a question, you’ll be forced to use a combination of intuition, body language and fact to discern whether they’re telling the truth, stretching it or if their arses are aflame. This is only enhanced with the fantastic facial animations on offer. Rockstar have been promoting their MotionScan technology for a while, and finally getting to see it in action is well worth it. This isn’t simple motion capture; each actor involved in the game had their lines recorded by over thirty cameras trained on their faces. It’s stunning to see detail on this level, and it opens the door to judge many more games on the performances of their actors, not their voices. These aspects are something that simply haven’t been seen in gaming before, and it’s an intriguing, rewarding side to L.A. Noire’s presentation that gets more absorbing as the game progresses.
The cases themselves get progressively more detailed and elaborate, but you’ll still find yourself doing the same things; driving from place to place, searching for clues, maybe having a scrap, interrogating and perhaps having a shootout before you’ll finish each mission. Sure, these aspects of gameplay can be somewhat monotonous, but during the Homicide missions, for instance, the thread tying each case together is so brutally engrossing that you’ll truly want to press forward. If you really don’t want to rush through everything, then you can busy yourself with forty street crime side missions, automobile collecting and discovering the landmarks of this massive, realistic slice of L.A.
That’s part of the games problem, however. The setting may be lovingly rendered and bursting with activity, but there’s not nearly enough to do to justify its size. It’s unnecessarily huge for a game that almost fools you into thinking that it has sandbox potential, but in reality, there’s no reason why this city had to be so large when, outside of the main story, what you’re offered has surprisingly little substance.
That places a touch too much emphasis on the game’s story. Not that it doesn’t progress with each rank you earn and every new set of cases that come your way; one of L.A. Noire’s plus points is pairing you up with a new partner each time you’re promoted and letting you see different areas of the city with each new investigation, which definitely helps to keep things fresh. Adding flashbacks to Phelps’ time in the war, his experiences with various soldiers and the way in which those men tie into the story was a good move, but some of the key relationships you’ll come across whilst in control of Phelps, particularly his partners, feel somewhat underdeveloped, detracting from the power of the plot’s biggest moments. Bit of a case of the sum of the whole being greater than the parts, unfortunately.
L.A. Noire is flawed, no doubt. Driving and shootouts have never felt so run of the mill, and they’re certainly scaled back here, but thankfully, there’s enough focus on the game’s plus points that it doesn’t totally hamper your enjoyment. L.A. Noire is something new, something a bit different and it gets that right. Mostly.
Being John Malkovich
11 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
in Comedy, DVD Review, Fantasy, The Chewie Project Tags: Being John Malkovich, Cameron Diaz, Charlie Kaufman, John Cusack, John Malkovich, Spike Jonze
From classic to ultra weird?
Yep. A puppeteer down on his luck takes a menial office job on floor 7 1/2 of an office building where everyone’s weird and there’s a portal to jump inside John Malkovich’s head.
…….Muh?
Well, there’s more to it than that. John Cusack plays Craig Schwartz (said puppeteer), a guy helplessly devoted to a craft no one gives two hoots about, and on the advice of his animal-loving wife Lotte (a magnificently unrecognisable Cameron Diaz), he goes in search of a proper job. This leads him to Lester Corp, located on floor 7 and a half in a large New York office building, a secretary who mishears every single thing he says and a harmless yet lecherous boss. Somehow, he lands a filing job and meets Maxine. Instantly, he’s enraptured, whilst she couldn’t care less. Then, he stumbles across a small door whilst trying to recapture a file that’d escaped behind a cabinet. The door leads into John Malkovich’s head, allowing him to see through Malkovich’s eyes and experience his existence, before promptly dumping him on the New Jersey turnpike after fifteen minutes.
I’ll say it again. ……Muh??
It doesn’t get any less weird. Maxine and Craig decide to strike up a business, charging $200 for people to use the Malkovich portal. It doesn’t stop there; Craig and Lotte develop an overpowering lust for Maxine, but she only cares about them when they’re in Malkovich’s head, overpowering him and assuming control. The man himself finally realises something’s up and……well, that’ll do for now. It’s exactly the kind of utterly obtuse concept you’d expect from the writer of Adaptation and Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, but it’s still Charlie Kaufman’s most recognised work despite its craziness. It’s constantly surprising throughout, and never really lets up. Only real problem with that is that you’re essentially bombarded with it’s off-kilter nature, and that can get a little disorientating.
Mostly a winner, though?
Predominantly. Diaz and Cusack do well in their weird, socially bereft roles, but the film belongs to Malkovich. He’s fantastic playing a fictionalized version of himself; brilliantly off centre, hilarious and absorbing. Taking the film at face value isn’t difficult, but keeping up with it can be. Then again, anything Kaufman comes up with always benefits from repeat viewings.
Rear Window
08 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
in Drama, DVD Review, The Chewie Project Tags: Alfred Hitchcock, Grace Kelly, James Stewart, Rear Window
Bit of a change of pace. What’s going on here?
Classic Alfred Hitchcock suspense picture. James Stewart is laid up in his apartment and has nothing to do but observe his neighbours from his studio apartment, and gets a whole lot more than he bargained for whilst doing so.
Ahh, healthy voyeurism for all…
Well, what would you do if you were stuck in a wheelchair with a broken leg during the summer? Listen to the birds? Photographer L.B. Jeffries breaks his leg on location, and we find him restless, confined to his apartment and getting very bored. Thankfully for him, the view from his huge rear window allows him to observe the comings and goings of some of his neighbours. There’s a beautiful dancer, a newly wed couple, a lonely middle-aged woman and several couples. What starts out as mostly innocent surveilance start to go awry when Jeffries notices one of the husband’s of these couples cleaning a large knife, with his bed-ridden wife nowhere to be seen, and slowly, his nurse (Thelma Ritter), girlfriend (Grace Kelly) and an old friend in the Police (Wendell Corey) are all sucked into Jeffries determination to prove that something awful is afoot.
1950s + Hitchcock + James Stewart = awesome?
It might not be the most evocatively titled movie of all time, but it’s a classic for a reason. Hitchcock nailed the art of the suspense thriller during his career, and Rear Window is probably the best example of it you’ll find. Stewart spends almost the entire film sat in his wheelchair, yet he slowly drags those around him into the drama unfolding from outside of his studio apartment. What’s even more impressive is that the film manages to hold your attention despite its exceptionally limited setting; we only ever see the main room of Jeffries’ apartment, the courtyard it looks out on and the rooms of those he spends his time watching.
(Kelly and Stewart’s performances are in truly awesome territory for the entire film)
It’s a treat to watch Jeffries become more and more involved in what’s going on outside his window, almost to the detriment of everything around him. At first, his relationship with Lisa (Kelly, being exceptionally enchanting) seems to be on the verge of ending because of their differences, but sure enough, she gets as engrossed in the drama as he does. When the tension hits its highest point towards the film’s conclusion, it’s absorbing and genuinely involving. Yet, Jeffries’ focus doesn’t linger on the potential murder, taking in the beautiful dancer’s long line of suitors in the evening and the lonely lady’s attempts at finding love amongst the other residents’ activities. Keeping Jeffries’ focus wide was a masterstroke, and it’s great to be kept up to speed with all of these engaging characters even though you’ll rarely get to hear them talk.
In short?
A movie that could’ve been poor in the wrong hands that instead deserves its classic status, thanks to Hitchcock, a great turn by Stewart and amazing, slow-burning tension.
Beetlejuice
31 May 2011 Leave a Comment
in Blu-ray Review, Comedy, DVD Review, Horror, The Chewie Project Tags: Alec Baldwin, Beetlejuice, Michael Keaton, Tim Burton
What’s it about? As if we didn’t already know.
Yeah, well some of us missed the boat on a lot of 80s classics as we were too busy watching Power Rangers.
What, for 12 years?
Shut up. Anyway, a deceased young couple spend the early stages of their afterlives attempting to scare an obnoxious family out of the recently vacated country home with the help of the titular ‘bio-exorcist’.
Feel a bit late to the party?
Definitely. Beetlejuice feels like the sort of movie anyone could enjoy. The story, haphazardly and quickly told, is very much a product of the decade it was made in; it doesn’t make a lot of sense, but it’s so much fun that you don’t really care. The tale of a young couple, Adam (Alec Baldwin) and Barbara (Geena Davis) dying in a tragic car accident, being bound to their house in spirit form and having to suffer the indignity of seeing a new family move into the home they’d slaved over only to see it turned into a ridiculous vision of modern art (plastic everything and large shapes a-go-go) by the family’s suffering artist might initially seem quite bleak. Of course, when you factor in that neither Adam or Barbara can leave the confines of the house after their death lest they get sucked into a shadow dimension populated by giant sandworms, taking the film seriously would be a mistake.
Adam and Barbara inhabit an absorbing and fantastical world where they get assigned to a careworker who advises them on how best to scare the new tenants out of their house. Unfortunately, their attempts backfire spectacularly, accidentally making the new family warm to them, and they soon enlist the help of freelance bio-exorcist ghost, Beetlejuice to get rid of them properly. Michael Keaton is fantastic in the title role, combining off-kilter comments, cartoon mayhem and just enough menace to steal every scene he’s in. Of course, it helps that director Tim Burton is in full-on fantasy mode. This might not be a story he’s written but the special effects, settings and characters are all so well realised that it may aswell be. It’s imaginative, random and damn funny.
Final thoughts?
Enjoyable offbeat story, wonderfully unique special effects and animation, and Michael Keaton is freakin’ awesome.
